President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump suggests some states ‘can pay nothing’ as part of Trump’s unemployment plan denies White House asked about adding him to Mount Rushmore Trump, US face pivotal UN vote on Iran MAY over the weekend signed executive orders on payroll taxes, unemployment benefits, student loans and benefits, and sought to take matters into its own hands when negotiations with Democrats over legislation on coronavirus delivery were halted.
The White House states that the executive actions will provide relief to Americans who are struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus recession.
But Democrats have argued that Trump’s orders will not be effective enough. Many Republicans support the presidential movement, but some conservatives question its legitimacy.
There remain a number of unanswered questions about how exactly the orders will be implemented.
“One of the unifying themes of the overall package is that it creates more uncertainty than it loses,” said Maya MacGuineas, chair of the Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a group watchdog group.
Here’s a look at what Trump’s mandates will and will not do, and where gray areas are.
Pay taxes
One of Trump’s mandates directs the Treasury Department to defer the payment of the Social Security Employee’s tax return by the end of the year to those under $ 100,000. The start date for the planned postponement period is said to be Sept. 1, but Trump said it could be back by August 1.
Trump said on Saturday that he plans to forgive the deferred taxes if he is re-elected.
By signing the memo, Trump is taking a step toward his long-term goal of cutting payroll taxes, a move he thinks would provide savings for workers and businesses to encourage employees to rehire employees.
But Democrats argue that it undermines social security.
As of Monday afternoon, the Treasury Department and IRS had not issued any guidance on Trump’s directive. Tax experts hope that guidance addresses issues such as the due date for when accrued taxes should be paid.
Pete Isberg, vice president of government relations for the payment company ADP, said some companies may find it challenging to update their payroll systems by Sept. 1.
“Many will find that they can not adapt programming quickly,” he said.
Legal experts also said it is possible that employers will continue to evade payroll tax because the order does not eliminate the taxes. If that happens, employees will not be able to boost their pay at home.
If an employer ceases to withhold tax returns, the employee may end up with a proper balance due to the federal government when the suspension period ends, assuming the deferred taxes are not forgiven by further action.
Unemployment benefits
Another of Trump’s memos directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create a program that authorizes administrators to deliver $ 400 a week to recipients of unemployment benefits. Residents would already have to receive $ 100 per week in benefits to be eligible.
Of the $ 400 per week, $ 300 would come from the federal government through up to $ 44 billion diverted from the Homeland Security Department’s disaster fund.
States would supply the remaining $ 100 each week. They could use funds that the federal government could provide them under the CARES Act introduced in March, or they could use other funds.
The sequence represents Trump’s efforts to unilaterally improve unemployment benefits to unemployed Americans. The $ 600-a-week increase in weekly benefits provided by the CARES Act expired at the end of last month, and Democrats and Republicans have been sparing about the level at which the enhanced benefits should be extended.
Trump’s order soon came under control over the legality and logistics needed to carry it out.
An ideologically diverse group of organizations in the Power of the Purse Coalition issued a statement opposing Trump’s to expand improved unemployment benefits “by reprogramming federal dollars contrary to the explicit intent of Congress.”
Democratic lawmakers, government officials, and legal experts have argued that states may find it difficult to participate in the program because they already have cash and that it will take some time for the necessary updates to their computer programs.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin White House Officials, Democrats Spit on Legality, Substance Execution Substance Sunday Shows – Trump Coronavirus Executive Commands Conquer Pelosi: ‘Obviously There’s Room for Compromise’ on 0-Week Unemployment Benefit MAY on Monday said most states should implement the improved unemployment benefits in order next week or two.
An email sent by the Department of Labor to Unemployment Polls on Sunday said states can use their existing unemployment benefits to meet the cost sharing requirement. However, that would have the effect of recipients receiving enhanced benefits of $ 300 per week instead of $ 400.
“For people on the edge, $ 100 could make a big difference,” said David Super, a law professor at the University of Georgetown.
Trump told reporters Sunday that the federal government would make a decision on state contributions per case.
“It may be that in some cases they pay nothing,” he said.
Mnuchin on Monday argued that states did not have to meet with additional funds for the unemployment program because they could use money from the CARES Act.
“The 25 percent doesn’t really come from the states because we authorize them to use money from the $ 150 billion we just sent them,” Mnuchin told CNBC. “So essentially every 100 percent of the federal government comes.”
Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, called Mnuchin’s remarks “disrespectful”, noting that many states have already fully committed their CARES Act funds.
Student loans
The memorandum on student loans directs the Department of Education to expand a provision in the CARES law that temporarily suspends student loan payments and sets interest rates at zero.
Under the CARES Act, the break in required payments was set to expire September 30; the assignment advises the Department of Education to extend the suspension through Dec. 31.
Democrats argue that more can be done to help people struggling with student loans.
“[Trump’s] Delay in student lending does not offer long-term lending to lenders who are drowning in student debt, ”Sen. Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Campbell BrownOvernight Defense: Guardsman to witness the removal of Lafayette Square was ‘unprovoked escalation’ | Dems push for controversial Pentagon nominee to withdraw Watchdog says Pentagon does not consider climate change risks for entrepreneurs Democrats are pushing a controversial Pentagon nominee policy to withdraw from Chamber of Commerce, banking group calls on First Chamber to pass Bill on business diversity MAY (Ohio), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement Saturday.
Evictions
Trump’s housing administration does not extend the federal eviction moratorium that expired at the end of July. Instead, it sends several federal agencies to investigate resources that could be used to provide assistance to tenants and homeowners.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are directed to consider whether measures to prevent eviction are necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus from one state to another. The order also directs Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify federal funds that could be used to provide financial assistance to tenants and homeowners.
In addition, the order instructs HUD to “promote the ability of tenants and homeowners to avoid eviction or negligence as a result of financial difficulties caused by COVID-19.” It further directs the Federal Housing Financing Agency to monitor all authorities that may be used to prevent evictions and foreclosures.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
“The executive order signed this weekend by President Trump is an empty shell of a pledge that does nothing to prevent evictions and homelessness and acts only to persuade tenants to believe they are protected when they are not,” he said. said the National Low Income Income Coalition in a statement.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that the president “did what he could within his executive capacity.”
Items left out
There are a number of items that lawmakers and the White House have discussed, including in coronavirus relief legislation that were not addressed in Trump’s mandates.
These items include additional funding for state and local governments, additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, funding for schools, additional funding for coronavirus testing and a second round of incentive payments.
McEnany said the president is still interested in pursuing a legislative package.
“The White House is still motivated,” she said. “The president would like to see direct payments to Americans. The president would like to see the funding of schools. There are several items we would like to see happen. “
Niv Elis contributed.
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